WASHINGTON -- Math scores continued to rise in the Los Angeles Unified School District, but reading is showing no improvement with fourth-graders ranking among the lowest among urban districts, according to a federal report released Thursday. Every two years, 11 urban districts, including Los Angeles, test their fourth- and eighth-grade students in math and reading.

Over the next half-century, California's population will explode by nearly 75%, and Riverside will surpass its bigger neighbors to become the second most populous county after Los Angeles, according to state Department of Finance projections released Monday. California will near the 60-million mark in 2050, the study found, raising questions about how the state will look and function and where all the people and their cars will go.

Re "Shooter plotted in silent rage," April 18 My heart broke to hear about the murders at Virginia Tech. Even though I was only 10 when the Columbine shootings occurred, I feel the same emotions now as I did then. I cannot help but wonder: When will we all learn? Seung-hui Cho was mad at the world; why couldn't someone have reached out and befriended him? So many people are hurting and just need someone to show them that life and love are valuable and worth pursuing. SARAH ROBERTS Chino Hills Confidentiality laws covering students as young as 18 -- so highly enforced at our colleges and universities -- have precluded parents from knowing when their children are experiencing significant medical, behavioral or emotional challenges.

Two new studies by California researchers counter negative perceptions that immigrants increase crime and job competition, showing that they are incarcerated at far lower rates than native-born citizens and actually help boost their wages. A study released Tuesday by the Public Policy Institute of California found that immigrants who arrived in the state between 1990 and 2004 increased wages for native workers by an average 4%.

The League of United Latin American Citizens announced Tuesday that it is investigating Ventura County's hiring practices related to recruitment, promotion and retention of Latinos, blacks and other ethnic groups. LULAC, the nation's largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, said it is responding to years of complaints by county employees and applicants who believe administrators don't do enough to hire and develop the careers of minorities and single them out when layoffs occur.

THE commander of Afghan troops confronting the Taliban here is a career officer with a clipped gray beard and a formal bearing who once fought for a Soviet-backed puppet government. His deputy is his former enemy. Many of their soldiers fought for or against the Russians, against the Taliban or for various warlords -- except those so young they had never picked up a rifle. From this unwieldy mix, the U.S.

Skiers cut through a fresh dusting of snow, then grind to a halt at the icy base of the Sierra Summit resort where Richard Shimizu is taking a break. Although the ski resort is in Fresno County, where almost half the population are minorities, most people crunching past Shimizu in their ski boots are white. It's a scene repeated in ski resorts across the country, where only 3 out of 20 skiers or snowboarders are part of a minority, according to marketing researchers.

At Walt Disney Co., Chief Executive Robert Iger has made the mandate clear: Reaching the expanding Latino audience is a top priority for the Burbank-based entertainment giant. The company's theme park, cable and broadcast groups each have made inroads, creating Spanish-language sports channels through ESPN, TV shows starring Latinos for the ABC network and bicultural "Cinderella"-themed contests for Latina teens.

Bombs, mortar rounds and shootings Sunday killed at least 18 Iraqis as politicians took a day off from government-formation talks to inaugurate the Kurds' new regional administration in Irbil. U.S. officials, meanwhile, reported that a U.S. Marine died from wounds sustained in combat Sunday in the western province of Al Anbar. They did not release any further details.

As immigrant rights marchers gathered in downtown Los Angeles on Monday morning, garment manufacturer Mike Lee said many of his fellow Korean American merchants closed early, fearing a repeat of the 1992 riots. Lee closed his Poison Ivy shop as well, but did something more. He joined the march. "I am also an immigrant," Lee said as the throngs on Wilshire Boulevard crossed Western Avenue. Just as the 1992 disturbances were a defining event for L.A.'